A third local government has pulled out of a proposed contract with the Humane Society for Southwest Washington that would last the remainder of the year.
Kelso City Council voted 4-2 on Tuesday to not enter into an agreement with the Vancouver-based nonprofit to shelter the city’s stray animals.
Councilmember Jim Hill was absent. Councilmembers Brian Wood and Mike Karnofski voted to approve the contract, while everyone else declined.
The vote follows the county’s decision to opt out of humane society services in February and Kalama’s before that.
Kelso councilmembers Keenan Harvey and Lisa Alexander were against the humane society's requested program to trap, spay or neuter, then release stray cats.
The humane society says the program humanely reduces local stray cat populations.
Alexander questioned how successful that would be. She said there are many stray cats in her neighborhood that spray on her front door. She said even fixed cats will do this.
Karnofski said City Manager Andrew Hamilton had worked hard to secure a contract beneficial for Kelso, and although this wasn't the ideal option, it was the best the city has at this time. He suggested to pass the agreement and continue to look for a better option.
After the contract was voted down, Hamilton said he would work with the county to find a solution to shelter animals after Harvey suggested the idea.
Kelso Planning Manager Mike Murray told the council Tuesday that the county and its cities bargained together for animal sheltering services. A public request for proposals only garnered one applicant: the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.
Longview spokesperson Angela Abel told The Daily News that previously the county and its cities had differing rates with the nonprofit, so they joined forces to negotiate.
Kalama pulled out early due to budget constraints, Longview Assistant City Manager Chris Collins previously said.
The county pulled out in February and stray dogs picked up in unincorporated parts of the county are now kept in kennels outside the Cowlitz County Jail.
After the county declined its agreement, the remaining cities renegotiated, Murray said.
The agreement Kelso voted on would have split a total contract cost of about $311,865 between Kelso, Longview, Woodland and Castle Rock.
Kelso would have paid $69.781.25, Longview $218,902.84, Woodland $12,426.80, and Castle Rock $10,753.96.
Longview is set to vote on its contract next week.
Abel said Thursday it is unclear if Longview’s price will differ now with Kelso out.
In February, Longview councilmembers unanimously passed the humane society's requested trap-and-release program as well as a contract extension with the nonprofit.
Abel said local governments were OK'ing month-to-month extensions in 2026 until the a proposed contract through the end of the year was ready to be presented to the councils.
Murray told the Kelso council that the humane society's requested trap-and-release program would not hold stray cats for the nonprofit's regular 72-hour threshold, but immediately fix them.
Harvey questioned if the city would be liable if a prized, unmicrochipped cat escaped and the humane society fixed it before the pet could breed and bring in profits for the owner.
Cowlitz County Senior Deputy Attorney Jason Laurine brought up the same scenario at the Jan. 27 Cowlitz County commissioner meeting.
Kelso attorney Stewart Feil told Harvey the scenario was unlikely because such a prized pet would most likely be microchipped.
Laurine gave the example at the county meeting because he said he himself breeds Maine coon cats and does not microchip them because they live indoors.
He said the county would be more liable than the humane society if the government adopted the trap-and-release program.
Alexander also said Tuesday she thought the humane society's response to the county pulling out was "bullying." The nonprofit provides scripts on its website to email commissioners to ask them to work with the organization.
The humane society also says on its website that the county voted to end services with the nonprofit at the Feb. 3 meeting, but no vote took place. The commissioners say they let the contract expire without a vote.
County commissioners said at the Jan. 27 meeting that they were against the draft agreement's high price, particularly when they wanted more basic services.
The country's portion in its draft humane society contract was $225,000 in 2026, $268,000 in 2027 and $304,000 in 2028.
The last year the previous humane society ran the shelter in 2023, the cost for animal control and sheltering was $365,000 total, Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman told the commissioners at the Jan. 27 meeting.
Now, the county pays for sheriff's office staff to run animal control, which Thurman expected to be $360,000 alone in 2026.
Until the end of 2023, the Humane Society of Cowlitz County provided animal control for a fee for all of Cowlitz County's cities except Kalama for decades.
The Humane Society for Southwest Washington announced it was taking over the Longview location and renaming it in October 2024.
